Microsoft to upgrade Windows Kinect kit

Microsoft announced a second Kinect for Windows release this week, adding more advanced skeletal tracking, localised speech recognition and a new video suite application.

Kinect for Windows 1.5 sees the addition of Kinect Studio, an app to let developers record, play and debug clips of users getting jiggy with their applications. There's also '10-joint' skeletal tracking, adding arm, head and neck tracking for seated or standing users.

Those with strong, but perhaps not overly thick, English accents, will benefit from the latest language packs, which aide speech recognition for different regions. English packs include Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and Canada.

The Redmond firm confirmed Kinect for Windows 1.5 will be available at the end of May, adding that it would be rolled out across a wider range of countries by June. ®